Setting Up Postman

Postman is an app designed to assist in API development. It is available as a desktop app and on the web.

A Postman collection is a group of API requests that are already saved in the Postman app and arranged in folders. Opala's Patient Access API and Provider Directory API sandboxes are available as a Postman collection called Opala Collection that you can run in your Postman app.

Important!

Before you can import Opala's Patient Access API collection into Postman, you must create an Opala account and register your first application.

Working in the Sandbox

Once you have created an account and registered with Opala, you are given access to Opala's sandbox environment. Opala's Sandbox environemnt provides complete functionality; the environment parallels the Opala production environment but contains no live data.

Use the client_id and client_secret (assigned to you in the My Sandbox section of the Developer Portal page when you create an account) to authorize access to the Postman collection so you can use the Sandbox.

Download Opala's Postman Collection

Use the Run in Postman button below to import a copy of Opala's Patient Access and Provider Directory API Sandbox.

When you select the Run in Postman button, the code launches a process that forks the Opala Collection and installs a copy of it locally. Because Opala forks the collection, you do not need to work in Scratch Pad in order to maintain security.

Working with the Opala Collection

Before you Begin

Before you can use the Patient Access API, you must configure your environment variables in Postman.

1. In the tabs beneath the request bar, select Auth.
2. Scroll down until you see the Client ID and Client Secret fields.
   
3. Enter the Client ID and Client Secret from your My Sandbox page on the Developer Portal.
   Note: This page is only available after you have registered with Opala.
4. Enter the suggested scopes from your My Sandbox page in the Scope field.
5. Use the button to obtain a new access token. You will be unable to access the Patient Access API without the access token.
   

   Note: You may need to clear your browser's cache before selecting this button in order to successfully retrieve the access token.

Using the Collection

The Opala Patient Access Collection includes a test user for you to use in the Patient Access Sandbox environment. Information about the test user (including username and password) is available in the Using Opala's Sandbox and Production Environments topic.

For each API in the collection, you can expand the description beneath the title in Postman for more information by clicking the caret icon. For example, the image below shows Opala's Sandbox Patient Access API.

Note: The client_id and client_secret used to access the sandbox API will not give you access to the production API. To access the production API, you must register with Opala as a client.

Within each folder are pre-defined requests you can run using Postman. For example, should you want to search for the patient history of Jane Gold, you can modify the Sandbox Patient Access request in Postman like this:

This request returns a bundle that includes all of Jane Gold's patient history.